Lone Wolves
by SpartAl412
Summary: The Battle for Reach has ended and the forces of the Covenant Empire now stand victorious. On the surface of the planet, the Spartan, Noble Six fights his defiant last stand against the alien legions. Unknown to the Spartan is that a new player has entered the fray, one whose nature will leave the question on whether it will be the savior or doom of mankind.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This story was written without any knowledge of the books and comics; the only other Halo related media I have seen is Halo Legends. I am open to feedback so feel free to post what you think. Like the rest of my crossover stories, the events herein will be of a separate, non-canonish continuity from the non crossover tales... and I honestly have no idea why I even thought that this was a good idea.**

* * *

><p>Looking up to the cloudy red skies as a pair of banshees flew overhead, Spartan B-312 watched as the enemy dropships made their descent. A slight fog of dust had descended upon the remains of the Aszod ship-breaking yard where the many bodies of his brothers and sisters lay, it mattered not whether they were fellow Spartans or the common soldiers of the UNSC Army for they were all comrades in arms, fighting to defend humanity from their alien foe. Bright lights flashed in the distance and the lone Spartan knew that his end was coming.<p>

His once grey suit of MJOLNIR powered assault armor was now covered in dirt, grime and dried alien blood for he had not the time to properly perform maintenance and cleaning. B-312 had personally had his armor modified to provide him with as much protection as physically possible without sacrificing speed and mobility for the Spartan often enjoyed getting in up close and personal. The symbol of the golden Fleur-de-lis which had been placed over his left collarbone was still visible under the patina of dirt, he did not know why he chose it, but the symbol seemed appropriate when he had received word that he would be transferred to a squad called Noble Team.

Strangely, the Spartan who was also called Noble Six did not feel any fear, despair or regret at his current situation. Rather, he felt contented and satisfied at what he had accomplished. The A.I. which Dr. Halsey had assigned him to deliver was now safely away from Reach, hopefully, the crew of the Pillar of Autumn would be heading towards Earth.

Emile's last defiant words echoed in the mind of Noble Six, "I am ready, How 'bout you?!"

In a way, Six was ready as well. He remembered the faces of his squad mates, Jorge, Kat, and Carter as well as the faces of all those men and women who had died fighting the Covenant. Anger and hate flared up inside the Spartan, all too familiar emotions which he had been keeping pent up and finally now, he had a release for it.

Tightening the grip on his designated marksman's rifle and watching as the alien forces deployed multiple infantry squads near his position, Noble Six vowed to make them pay for every inch of soil with their blood.

* * *

><p>'Landing in five minutes' announced a Sangheili pilot who was busily operating the control console of a Spirit transport craft.<p>

'Acknowledged' came the gruff response of a red armored Major who was currently located on the left transportation compartment of the Spirit.

A Demon had been spotted and ground forces were being deployed to slay it, a great honor it would be for the warrior who manages to land the killing blow. He did wonder though as of why high command would choose to send so many warriors to slay this one Demon, it was not his place to question orders or the plans of his superiors and so the pilot left it at that. He for one though was glad not be assigned to the ground operations, the Demons were mighty foes who were often quite capable of single-handedly laying waste to entire squadrons.

A sudden series of beeps and red flashing lights appeared on the control console of the transport craft and the pilot glanced down to see what it was. Placing his right hand on the flashing light, the pilot watched as the holographic display showed a new set of orders being issued. An unknown energy spike had been detected by the sensors of the ships in orbit and command needed the squad he was transporting to investigate for they were the closest to the site.

Relaying the change of plans to his passengers, the Major dutifully complied and the pilot set a new course. It was not far from the location where the Demon had been spotted, no doubt that when the Major's squad investigates whatever it was the fleet's sensors had picked up, they would resume with the mission to slay the Demon. After a few more, uneventful minutes, the pilot set the ship close to the ground and gave the signal to disembark.

'Good hunting' spoke the pilot over the communications to the leader of his passengers and the Major responded with a blessing in the name of the Gods.

* * *

><p>Landing on the dusty ground with an audible grunt, an Unggoy Minor watched as his comrades landed near him. The screen of dust and grit stung the Grunt's eyes and he wished that he had brought some protective eyewear. Scanning their surroundings while breathing deeply, the Grunt was rather terrified for he had heard that there was a Demon nearby.<p>

'Spread out into pairs and search for anything unusual!' came the voice of their Sangheili squad leader and the Grunts dutifully obeyed.

Keeping his eyes peeled opened, the Grunt saw another of his squad mates move towards him and he nodded with relief. Visibility was low in this place thought the Grunt with worry for if there were any foes about, there may be a good chance of them being ambushed. For several tense minutes, the Grunt and his comrade continued to survey the dusty plains and in the distance at the edge of his hearing, he heard the distant sounds of gunfire of human weaponry and the screams of fellow Unggoy as well as those of Elites.

The sharp sounds and green flashes of plasma pistol fire went off not far to the north of the Grunt and his companion and the two reluctantly went to investigate it. Moving towards where the shots were fired the Grunt noticed movements at the corner of his eyes and he frantically looked about to see with relief, the silhouettes of his fellow Unggoy and even their Elite leader. When they arrived at their destinations, the Grunt and his fellows were horrified to see two of their kin lying dead with blood gushing out from savage wounds which bled profusely.

'Did anyone see what happened?!' demanded the Elite and the Grunt looked to his fellow Unggoy as each of them gave an uncertain and terrified look to their squad leader.

The Elite gave them a disdainful grunt before going over to the corpses and kneeling down to inspect them. The Grunt nervously watched his squad's leader and he could hear his fellows fearfully whispering about the presence of the Demon. The Elite had then found something which drew his attention and soon he brought up an odd-looking tuft of black fur like those sometimes shed by the Jiralhanae.

Their squad leader then brought the tufts of fur close to his face and Grunt could hear him sniffing it. 'It does not smell of a Brute' muttered the Elite. As their squad leader further studied the tuft of fur, a loud screech of pain echoed from one of the other Unggoy and the Grunt saw with horror as his unfortunate kinsman fell with a massive black furred beast upon its back.

As far as the Grunt could tell, it had a long, sinuous body which was completely covered black fur; its teeth were bared at them with bright blue Unggoy blood covering its maw. The beast somewhat resembled the four-legged creatures which could often be found on human worlds and were kept by the humans as pets and guard beasts, a dog he thinks they are called. The dog-thing growled savagely at them, its eyes were black pits of pure darkness which seemed to glint with an unnatural intellect.

'Kill it!' roared the Elite and the grunts were quick to aim their plasma pistols at the creature.

Sporadic bright bolts of green plasma flew towards the black furred dog-thing which swiftly leapt away from the shots which struck the ground behind whereit had just been standing while other bolts struck the body of their fallen comrade. The dog-thing was incredibly fast, it evaded the plasma bolts and strafed towards the Elite who fired a volley of bright blue bolts from his plasma rifle. Each shot from the Elite the Grunts had missed their mark and before they knew it, the beast leapt towards the Elite and its jaws fastened around the neck of their squad leader.

A brief flash of blue energy flashed from the Elite as the dog-thing's jaws ripped through the shields of their squad leader and with single jerk of its head, the Elite's throat was torn out. Blue blood sprayed out in a gushing torrent with drops of it splattering on those Grunts closest to the Elite. Shaking his legs with fear, the Grunt's courage was shattered and he heard one of his comrades shout 'WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!'

Throwing his hands up and turning away from this monstrous creature, the Grunt ran away as fast as his legs could carry him. After two steps, he felt a great weight knock him face first to the ground and in less than a heartbeat, savage jaws clamped down around his skull, piercing flesh and bone. With a single tear, the dog-thing ripped the upper half of the grunt's head off from his body before loping towards another of the Unggoy.

* * *

><p>Feeling the satisfying impact as the point of his knife slipped into the soft flesh of an Elite's neck, Noble Six swung his shotgun to his left using only one hand hand, the barrel of the gun was pointed at the face of another Elite and he squeezed the trigger. In a split second, the alien's head was pulverized into a shower of blue meat, bits of metal from its helmet and bone as it took the shotgun blast at point-blank range. Retracting his knife and sheathing it, Noble Six placed his right hand on the underside of his shotgun and he gave a good pump it.<p>

Down to three more shells the Spartan thought grimly, better make them count then. Sprinting up towards a hill with a burned out bunker atop of it while evading bolts of plasma fire, he saw a red armored Elite rush him while firing s burst of bolts from a Plasma Carbine. Taking the shot which impacted against his shields, Noble Six swung the stock of his shotgun into the alien knocking it back and damaging its shield with a bright flash.

The Elite countered by hurling a hook punch at the Spartan who swiftly ducked underneath the strike and he brought his shotgun up to it and fired another blast which sent a hail of buckshot into the alien's chest. The Elite fell back with a cry of pain as the front of its torso was obliterated by the shotgun blast, Noble Six did not have time to dwell on his latest kill for there were more aliens behind him. Heading back to the bunker, the Spartan took a few more plasma bolts to the back but was otherwise unharmed.

Quickly moving to the back of the bunker where he had earlier spotted an assault rifle, he dropped his DMR which was now emptied of all ammunition. The screaming voice of an alien Grunt rang out and the Spartan halted his movements before quickly hopping back. He saw a crazed Grunt emerge from the doorway at the back of the bunker with two active plasma grenades in hands, huffing in contempt for the alien, he blasted it without a second thought.

The Grunt flew back while dropping its two plasma grenades and the Spartan moved as quickly as he could away from the primed explosives. A bright flash of blue energy exploded behind him and before they dissipated, Noble Six went back to the door way to see if the assault rifle was still there. Plasma bolts struck the blackened wall to the left of the moving Spartan as he exited the bunker and to his delight, he saw that the rifle was still there.

Picking up the assault rifle and quickly shouldering it, he heard the steps of another alien to his right and he looked to see a red armored Elite charging him with a concussion rifle. Bright bolts of energy flew towards Noble Six and one struck a little too close to the Spartan who was knocked back by it while a flash of white light temporarily seared his retinas while the upper right section of his EOD helmet's visor cracked.

Landing with a grunt as his back struck the hard ground, Noble Six saw the Elite who had shot him leap up with an energy dagger now activated its right hand while the Concussion Rifle was still held in its left. Rolling to his left in time to avoid being stabbed in the gut, the Spartan brought up his shotgun and fired the last shell at the Elite's head. A new coat of blue splattered the wall of the bunker and Spartan dropped his shotgun in favor of the alien weapon.

Despite it all, the Spartan had yet to suffer a physical injury, let's see how long that lasts he thought as he got back up and the Lone Wolf resumed his hunt.

* * *

><p>'What do you mean one squad has not reported in?!' demanded a golden armored Sangheili General as he spoke into his communications device.<p>

At the moment, the General was upon a lookout tower not far from where his forces had cornered the Demon. The dust cloud which had descended upon them had nullified any ability to directly see what was going and the General was forced to rely on coordinating the efforts of the different squads involved in the operation.

'The squad sent to investigate the anomaly is not answering our hails sir!' came the reply of a communications officer.

'Do you have any idea on how many warriors the Demon has killed?!' shouted the General 'we need more reinforcements if we are to kill it'

'We are sending more your way sir!' the communications officer said before switching the feed to another unit.

Grunting with displeasure at the incompetence of those he had to work with, the General was getting more than he had bargained for. The Demon had already killed more than a dozen of his Elites with several more grunts now dead as well. It was supposed to be a swift kill an act akin to finishing off prey that was already cornered and wounded.

The General had to admit though that he was rather impressed by the skill of this Demon. There was honor in facing an overwhelmingly large number of foes, defiant to the very end, even when death was inevitable. Perhaps when this battle was over, he would keep a piece of the Demon's armor as a trophy.

'Squad Nine! Move in!' ordered the General towards a Major which led a unit of three other Elites. The General was answered with silence and he grew annoyed at this for if it was not equipment failure then this would be clear insubordination. Calling up the squad again and receiving no answer, he ordered another squad which had been near Squad Nine's position to investigate and was glad to hear an acknowledgement from their leader.

Garbled reports came in from the squads sent after the Demon and the General's frustration increased at the lack of skill his warriors displayed. Eventually, the leader of the previous squad he had contacted finally reported in.

'They are all dead sir!' came the surprised voice of the squad leader. 'Squad Nine has been wiped out, it looks like something... tore their throats out.'

'What do you mean tore their throats out?!' questioned the General in disbelief for he had now knowledge of any local wildlife which would be capable of killing an entire squad of Sangheili so quickly.

'As I said sir there…' said the squad leader before several sharp discharges of plasma weapons were heard from the other side of the communications line. 'Hold your fire!' roared the squad leader and the sounds of more plasma weapons being discharged could be heard.

'By the Prophets! Who is shooting at you?!' demanded the General and he heard the high-pitched squeals and chatter of grunts.

'Something scared the Grunts sir, I didn't see what it…' said the squad leader as his voice trailed off and the General heard the squad leader speak in an unsure tone 'what is that?'

'What is what? What do you see?' impatiently asked the General for there was something going on here.

For a moment, there was nothing but silence and then the General heard the sounds of shots being fired again. A loud savage bark was heard from the squad leader's end of the communications line and the terrified screams of Grunts were heard. Just what in the Prophet's name was going on out there? Thought the General.

Quickly reaching for his Plasma Sword, the General activated the weapon and heard the hiss of air being ionized as the energy blade formed its deadly edge. Descending from the tower, the General landed gracefully upon the ground and he opened up a link to the communications officer again.

'I need the coordinates to the last location of Squads Nine and Eleven' demanded the General and he immediately saw on his HUD an arrow which was pointing towards location to the west. Moving as quickly as he could, the Elite General began to have a rather strange, gut feeling that his forces were not the only things out here on this plain.

* * *

><p>You just had to go jinx it up didn't you? Thought Noble Six as he heavily breathed with his back to the wall of the bunker with a dead Elite lying at his feet. The Spartan had acquired a new Plasma Sword after shooting an Elite with a charged up plasma pistol shot and shooting its ugly face with a well placed Magnum round. Upon Noble Six's back, he still had the assault rifle and his Magnum had been holstered to the side of his right waist, the concussion rifle had been discarded after he used up all of its ammo and temporarily switched to the unorthodox tactic of wielding two pistols.<p>

Pain coursed through his body as he had taken several plasma bolts which had breached his shield and armor. His visor was now severely cracked around the edges and he no longer had access to his radar, and his ammo counter. At the least, though, the damned noise from the Wraith tank had been silenced after he destroyed it with a Spartan Laser which had been lying around, now the only noise he had to worry about was the voices of the aliens and their guns.

As his shields recharged, Noble Six felt a plasma bolt struck him and the meter showed that it was not even fully restored. Muttering a curse and sprinting away from his position, he saw several more of the aliens open fire at him with bolts of plasma flying past him, more than a few had come a little too close for comfort. A blue armored Elite with a plasma rifle charged out from behind some rocks while shouting an alien battle cry.

The Elite thrust its foot at him in forwards a kick, the Spartan barely managed to dodge it by side stepping to his right. Thrusting the plasma sword upwards at the Elite, Noble Six impaled the alien's chest before bringing the blade down and passing through its groin. The Elite fell back with the meat inside its body charred by the sword.

Sprinting ahead once more and doing his best to avoid the alien weapons fire, Noble Six felt a searing pain explode across his back as he heard the loud blast of a focus rifle strike him. Stumbling to the ground and feeling more tired than he had ever been in his entire life; it took all of the Spartan's willpower to keep on going. Getting back up to his feet and taking a left turn, Noble Six saw another Elite coming towards him with a dagger charged and ready while firing a plasma rifle .

Two of the bolts struck Noble Six who hissed in pain as he felt the searing heat burn his skin underneath the armor. Running towards the alien with his plasma sword which he hoped, still had a lot of power, the alien suddenly then deactivated its dagger and it swiftly brought out a plasma grenade which in a blink of an eye, primed and threw at him. Loudly cursing, Noble Six leapt to his left, barely in time to avoid being stuck by the grenade and he saw the shadow of the Elite fall upon him.

Pain exploded across the head of Noble Six as the Elite managed to smash its weapon on his helmet. His shield was the only thing which fully prevented the strike from outright killing him but his helmet's visor was shattered by the strike and he saw his opponent through its cracks. Acting on instincts alone, Noble Six swung the sword at the Elite and was rewarded by a surprised shout of pain from the alien as the plasma grenade exploded nearby, unfortunately though, he saw that his Swords' power had run out.

Cursing again for it seemed that his luck had run out, Noble Six discarded the plasma sword hilt and he placed his hands around his helmet. Removing his head gear and feeling the warm air kiss his skin as the smell of burnt flesh and alien blood filled his nostrils, he dropped his helmet to the ground and noticed that his assault rifle had also fallen but at least it was within his reach.

Grabbing the assault rifle, he was glad to see the ammo counter upon it indicated that there were still thirty two rounds inside it. This was it he thought, it was time to face the music and he was ready.

* * *

><p>'By the Prophets…' muttered the Elite General as he looked upon the charnel scene which lay before him.<p>

The bodies of Elites and Grunts were strewn across the ground, their bodies had been savagely ripped to gruesome shreds as pieces of bloody flesh, bone and armor were scattered. It was as if a pack of crazed Brutes had gone on a feeding frenzy. Quickly establishing a link with the main communications channel of the fleet, the General began calling for extra back up to be sent.

'Sir, we have cornered the Demon, we have it wounded!' came the excited voice of one of his Ultras.

'Kill the demon and be done with it!' commanded the General 'there is something out there, in the dust cloud'

'Sir?' asked the confused voice of the Ultra.

'Just keep your eyes open, we are not alone out here' the General quickly replied.

'Yes General' was the response of the Ultra who cut the feed.

Looking to the ground and searching for any possible signs of what had killed the two squads, the General found a set of prints upon the ground and a trail of blue blood. Following the direction of the trail, the General saw that it was leading to the hill, where the Demon had been cornered.

* * *

><p>Searing pain exploded across the chest of Noble Six as a series of plasma bolts struck him. His vision swam as his head became light from blood-loss and it too all of his will to stay standing. Seeing three Elites coming at him, Noble Six brought up his assault rifle in his right hand while in his left, he held his pistol and proceeded to unload the full contents of both guns. He managed to kill two of the aliens but the third got close enough to swing a punch at him with enough force to knock him off of his feet.<p>

For a brief moment of vertigo, Noble Six felt a sense of weightlessness and then suddenly, pain exploded across the back of his head as he crashed upon the ground. The Elite who had knocked him down was now coming at him with an active energy dagger in its right hand. The alien then leapt up and brought its blade down upon the Spartan who swiftly brought his right leg up to kick it in the chest and push the alien away.

At the corner of his eye, Noble Six saw another elite come at him with a plasma sword. Looking towards the alien whose blade blazed with a deadly energy, his entire world seemed to slow down in what he knew would be his last moments. With perfect clarity, Noble Six saw every detail of the Elite which was coming right at him, the design of its armor, the particles of dust which were swept away by its charge and its eyes which balefully glared at him.

This was it he thought, at least he had done his duty and he had made sure to kill a whole lot of the bastards before they take him down. He wished that he still had a grenade so that perhaps he could blow himself up while taking the aliens with him. As the Elite raised its sword arm, ready to strike the killing blow, Noble Six heard and saw something which he never would have expected in million years.

A massive black furred wolf knocked down the Elite from its side, the wolf then lunged its jaws towards the throat of the alien and tore it out. The black wolf then turned towards the Elite he had kicked and it sprinted towards the alien with an incredible speed. The Elite swung its foot towards the wolf, attempting to kick its chin but the beast avoided it by moving its head to the side before leaping up and clamping its jaws upon the Elite's throat.

Just as with the first one, the black wolf tore out the alien's neck in a gushing torrent of blood, its teeth had sunk torn through both the alien's shield and armor as easily as his knife would. There was a final, sword-wielding Elite which had sought to slay the Spartan but now its gaze was focused upon the wolf, its coat was matted blue with alien blood. The Elite stood there, transfixed by the gaze of the black wolf which pawed its way closer and much to Noble Six's surprise, the alien did nothing to resist before the beast tore the alien's throat out as well.

The wolf then turned its gaze to Noble Six and he saw two obsidian orbs studying him, in its eyes, he saw a keen intellect which went beyond the any normal animal understanding. His vision then swam as he felt light-headed and the several wounds he had sustained began to overwhelm him with pain and darkness began to cloud his sight. His eyes rolled up to the back of his head, and the Spartan known as Noble Six knew only the sweet bliss of oblivion.


	2. Chapter 2

'What is that thing?!' muttered a horrified blue armored Elite Minor in disbelief as the bodies of several Sangheili veterans and officers were ringed around the Demon of whom he was not even sure was dead. What truly drew the attentions of the Covenant Warriors was the black furred beast which growled and bared its fangs at them. From his view, the Minor could see the sheer amount of both Sangheili and Unggoy blood which coated its fur.

'What are you waiting for?!' demanded an Ultra wielding a concussion rifle 'kill that monstrosity!'

With perfect precision and discipline, the Elites raised their guns at the creature, ready to open fire and as they were about to shoot, the beast raised its head to the sky while letting out a long mournful howl which sent unnatural chills down the spine of the Minor. At the corner of his eyes, he saw that his comrades, fellow Sangheili were also unnerved by the beast's call, it was as if he were hearing the voice of the damned. The beast's eyes which at first seemed like black pits of darkness then transformed into bright green flames which chilled the Minor to his very soul.

The winds howled loudly around them, the Elites looked up in fear as the unnatural chill they had felt had intensified and indeed, the Minor saw his own breath misting as if he were in a place of ice and snow. An intense weariness descended upon the Minor who began to feel as if he needed to lie down and sleep. The weight of his plasma rifle began to become too heavy for him and Minor looked down to his hands to see what was happening to him.

In horror, the Minor saw that his hands were withering before his very eyes, as if he were already becoming decrepit with age. Looking to his comrades, he saw that the same thing was happening to them, warriors who were at the prime of their lives had in mere seconds, become so old that they began to sag down with the weight of their own equipment. Some of the older Sangheili suddenly then exploded in a shower of dust, leaving only their gear to clatter on the ground as distant screams at the edge of their hearing was heard.

The air around them became filled with a thick grey mist which was impossible to see through. Several more of the other Elites suddenly exploded in clouds of dust as well before finally, the Minor himself had suffered the same, grisly fate.

* * *

><p>High above the planet Reach, the Covenant Ship known as The Vigil of Remembrance had picked up, yet again that strange energy reading. The operations crews of the ship were focusing all power on their scanners and what they found had defied all explanation. The first reading was located not far from the area of operation where the Demon had been located; the second reading on the other hand had been located in the Operational Zone.<p>

The Operational Zone was now covered in cloud of grey mists, none which their sensors could penetrate. Ground teams of Elites and Grunts had briefly sent out reports of being completely blinded by the fog, but soon those reports ended with screams and the brief sound of gunfire before silence descended upon them. Needles to say, the crew had become deeply unnerved by what they had heard.

Sitting upon the command throne of the ship, the Sangheili Master of the Ship was contemplating on his options. His instincts told him to order all warriors back and to glass the Operational Zone, but what if the Demon was carrying something from the Forerunner facility underneath the ice shelf? Some ancient relic of great power? Could he allow himself to commit heresy by destroying a sacred relic of the Ancients?

In the end, the Ship Master found that he could not risk destroying such an artifact. The warriors under his command would understand for each one would gladly make the sacrifice. The Ship Master would make sure that at the least, each fallen warrior would posthumously be honored for their sacrifice in bringing their empire closer to the Great Journey. Opening the communications channel to the waiting legions of warriors still within The Vigil of Remembrance, the Ship Master ordered for his troops to prepare for landing.

* * *

><p>Standing before the unnatural fog of grey mist, the Elite General watched with wary eyes for any movement within and all he saw were the eddies and swirls of the mist. There was something about it which beckoned and unnerved him. The temperatures had drastically dropped and from behind the fog, he heard nothing of the squads who had gone inside.<p>

He called once more to the warriors he had sent in and again, he got nothing from them. The General waited for a moment, unsure if he should wait for reinforcements and he silently watched as his plasma sword generated a glow of bluish light. Taking a deep series of breaths to calm himself and whispering a prayer, the General activated his cloaking field and proceeded into the fog.

Keeping watch on the Motion Tracker of his HUD, the Sangheili General cautiously searched the surrounding mists for any signs of his warriors or whatever it was that had slain the previous squads. Each step was followed by a tense breath of cold air which filled his lungs as the chill in his spine grew colder. At the edge of hearing, he thought that he had heard the distant echoes of screams while the faces of his kin appeared within the mists.

What madness is this? Thought the general as stepped forward and began to suspect that he had made a terrible mistake.

'I cannot see…' came a whispered voice to his right. Looking to the source of the voice, the General saw one of his Majors whose eyes were pitch black as a viscous, tar-like substance dripped from his eyes and mouth. 'I cannot see the light… where is the light?' asked the Major with fear in his voice 'brothers? Are you there? Don't leave me!'

'I am here soldier, report' said the General as he raised his left hand and brought it close to the sightless warrior in an attempt to get his attention. As the General's hand made contact with the Major's shoulder, he felt nothing, as if he were touching empty air and the form of the Major blackened and melt into a pool of darkness which faded into nothingness.

'I cannot see… I cannot see the light' whispered the Major's voice which was heard all around the General.

For a warrior who had spent much of his life serving the Covenant Empire, there was almost nothing which could cause the General's resolve to shatter but this… this darkness was enough to cause cracks in his courage. Did the mist have some sort of chemical agents in the air he thought? Some hallucinogen which was affecting him? No, he thought, this was something else, something which was just unnatural.

More voices echoed around the General as he saw the forms of Elites and Grunts, each one calling to one another yet none heard their comrades. Their eyes were dripping pools of pure darkness and as soon as they appeared, their bodies melted and left not a trace. A cacophony of begging and pleading surrounded him as an incessant wailing began to be heard and it increased in volume.

The General felt his very sanity begin to fray as he looked down to see dark, wriggling, things begin to cover the plates of his greaves. Daggers of pain flashed through his legs as the tendrils of darkness dug into his armor and flesh while climbing further upwards. Roaring with both pain and fear, the General slashed at the darkness and for a moment it seemed that it was repelled by the light of his plasma sword and hoped flared up in his heart.

The wailing grew louder and louder to the point that he feared becoming deaf, as patches of darkness began to consume his vision. 'Do you not see?' A voice whispered as the General attempted to sprint and run away 'can you not see?'

The Sangheili General screamed in horror as his mind finally broke from this unnatural fog and the choir of voices and wailing. And so the General ran, he ran faster than he would have thought possible until the muscles of his legs burned with searing agony and the pain was intensified as more of the dark things bit into his flesh. The light! He needed the light! He thought with desperation and at the edge of his vision he saw the familiar blue shaft of illumination from a search light.

Running towards the light and desperately calling for help, the General saw that it was becoming brighter and the fog began to lessen. With a single might leap, the Elite General hurled himself forwards but something snagged his feet and caused him to fall face first into the ground. Landing with loud grunt, the Elite looked to his feet with terror and he saw thick black tendrils holding on to him.

'You cannot escape it' came a voice next to him and the General looked up to see another black-eyed Sangheili Major. 'It will not let you leave… you cannot escape it…' said the Major and soon all the General saw, was utter darkness.

* * *

><p>The strange fog dissipated from the Zone of Operations as several squads of Elites Spec Ops warriors waited and watched. The leader of the Spec Ops troops raised his left hand and made a series of gestures, signaling for the rest to advance. The other Spec Ops Elites obeyed and commenced their search for whatever the anomaly was.<p>

After several minutes of thoroughly searching the area, the Elites found only the bodies of several of their kin as well as dead Grunts. Many were killed by human slug throwing weapons but others had also borne the telltale signs of plasma burns, no doubt the Demon had stolen the weapons of the fallen and used it against their comrades. Of the Demon itself though, the Elites found not even the body of a single human, only the discarded remains of their emptied weapons.

With alarm, the Spec Ops Elites continued to search the area, wary of any ambushes from the last possible Demon but in the end, nothing happened. With their continued search, they found bodies of which had their throats torn out and their bodies ripped to shreds in such a savage manner that it seemed impossible that such a barbarous act would be extremely unusual if committed by the Demon or one of its dread kind. Of the General who had been in charge of this operation, they found not a trace of the officer.

It was as if the General, along with dozens of other Elites and Grunts had just vanished into thin air. The Spec Ops Elites became deeply unnerved by what they had seen or more appropriately, what they could not. The Spec Ops Elites were then ordered to stand guard and cordon off the area as a group of Engineers equipped with advanced scanners were now in-bound to take another reading.

As the Spec Ops Elites stood guard, some could have sworn rather nervously of voices at the edge of their hearing.

* * *

><p>Suddenly opening his eyes with a loud gasp, Noble Six saw only darkness as the pain of his wounds flared up. There was no light here, nothing which would allow him to see through the pitch blackness and it was taking time for his enhanced eyes to adjust. Mentally cursing for not having a flashlight integrated into his armor, he felt cool air kiss his skin and a breeze to his right.<p>

He remembered the desperate battle as several aliens surrounded him and then he remembered seeing the black furred wolf which tore out the throats of the Elites. How did he get here? He thought where was he? As these questions swirled within his brain, upon the breeze he picked up a coppery smell he knew was blood, human blood. Reaching for his combat knife, he felt somewhat relieved to know that it was still there as his gauntleted fingers wrapped around the grip.

His eyes soon adjusted just enough to make a bare outline of wherever he was; he believed that he was in a cave, much like the one he had taken on the way to Aszod. The steps of his boots caused a loud echo across the cavern and after another step; he felt a great weight which caused him to collapse. More pain exploded across his face as he struck the floor of the cave, great, just great he thought rather caustically as his MJOLNIR powered assault armor had just malfunctioned.

Struggling with the power armor's weight, the Spartan managed to push himself off and roll over so that he could lie on his back. For several minutes, he struggled with the process of removing the armor by hand and without any assistance. Eventually, he succeeded in freeing himself from the MJOLNIR, its titanium plates clattered noisily within the cave and he rose back up to his feet, exhausted and still in pain from the plasma shots he had taken, he hoped that he could find a med-kit or med-gel somewhere.

Now clad only in the skin suit beneath his armor, Noble Six felt weakened and vulnerable without the MJOLNIR's protection. Retrieving his knife which he had set aside, the Spartan proceeded to follow the direction of the breeze which carried the coppery smell. He found himself to be scaling up a slight incline for what seemed to be an eternity and soon he saw the faintest traces of light from the twin moons of Reach.

Cautiously moving further to the light, the Spartan stepped on something hard and solid, he looked down and his blood chilled. It was another Spartan, one of the fallen comrades he had seen during his last stand. Noble Six could not see the face of the dead Spartan but he instinctively knew who it was inside, were he a religious man, Noble Six would have offered a prayer to his fallen brother.

The dead Spartan was not alone here for soon, Noble Six found the bodies of several others, all of whom he recognized from the previous battles. What had brought them here? He thought with worry for a Spartan in full regalia was not exactly easy to carry around, for each could weigh almost a thousand pounds. Searching the bodies of his fallen brethren, Noble Six cursed again for he had not found a single gun amongst them, only combat knives.

With a quiet promise, he vowed to give them all a proper burial, something which he wished that he could have done for his squad. Taking as many knives as he could and tying the sheathes together to form a brace, Noble Six intended to use them as throwing weapons until he could find gun. As he ascended from the cave, the Spartan heard a series of snarls and grunts which were accompanied not by the smell of a wild animal, but oddly, that of cinnamon which was mixed with the blood of both human and alien.

Curious at this, the Spartan cautiously moved further up, with his heart beating loudly under his chest and soon he saw the wolf. The black furred beast was savagely biting the neck of a slain Army soldier, the bodies of other soldiers laid strewn about like the discarded chunks of meat in a butcher's shop, their throats savagely torn out. The Spartan stood still for a moment; he held his breath and quietly slipped out one of the knives he had acquired earlier.

The wolf then turned its gaze towards him and he saw its obsidian eyes watching him expectation. For a moment, Noble Six remained there, he wanted to hurl his knife at it but found his hand to be trembling as he held on to the grip. The wolf then pawed its way closer to him and the Spartan found it difficult to resist, the eyes he realized, there was something mesmerizing about the wolf's eyes.

Gritting his teeth as sweat began to bead around his forehead, Noble Six focused all of his will into trying to resist its gaze and after a titanic mental struggle he managed to look away. The wolf then leapt toward him with a savage bark, the Spartan swiftly hurled a knife at it and as the blade was about to strike, the wolf suddenly evaporated into cloud of pure darkness. His eyes widened with surprise and disbelief and some instinct within told him that it was behind him.

Turning around, Noble Six saw the wolf leap out from the darkness its slavering maw was stained with blood as its paws reached towards him. Swiftly bringing out another knife and thrusting it towards the beast's head, he heard the sound of bones snapping beneath the skin of the wolf as clumps of fur fell off of its body. In less than even a heartbeat, Noble Six suddenly felt a strong grip around his neck as his knife struck against hardened metal, the blade shattered and the breath was knocked out of his lungs as he was slammed into the wall of the cavern.

Struggling for air he felt the grip tighten and black patches began to fill his vision, the pressure around his necj then loosened and he dropped to the ground with his knees landing on the stones. He greedily gulped down mouthfuls of air and he briefly looked up to see what had attacked him. The sight which he saw next simply stunned the Spartan for it was again, something he never would have expected.

A ghastly, pale skinned woman with deep black, braided hair was looking down upon him, her mouth and chin were coated in red blood while her eyes bore the same obsidian color as that of the wolf's and despite the sheer impossibility of it, Noble Six believed the woman and wolf were one in the same. She was garbed in a bizarre set apparel which was a cross of what looked like one part a 16th century period dress of deep crimson, almost black with a high collar which ended in steel tipped spikes and the other part looked like a suit of lacquered armor which was chased with a golden filigree of rose thorns which glowed brightly, despite no known power source.

'_Essaie encore et je vais régaler de votre cœur, chevalier_' hissed the woman threateningly in what he was pretty sure was French. Her hands were covered in a seemingly baroque set of gauntlets which ended in talon-like claws and in her left hand, he saw an equally baroque sword of blackened metal which was etched with what looked to be Egyptian Hieroglyphs but the sword glowed with an emerald-green energy field which sent chills up his spines as he looked at them.

'_Dites-moi où je suis et je ne vais pas vous tuer_' she then said with equal hostility.

'I have no idea what you are saying' growled the Spartan as he was forced to remain in place, his mind began running scenarios on his options on how to get the upper hand on this unnaturally strong and nightmarish woman.

'_Vous portez le symbole Le Breton, n'êtes-vous pas un chevalier de Bretonnia_?' asked the woman in French again with a bit of confusion added into her tone.

The Spartan slowly stood up but made no motion to attack the woman, he tried to avoid making eye contact with her as he noticed that her gaze still carried a hypnotic quality to it. He still had his brace of combat knives to defend himself but there was something at the back of his head which was telling him that if he were to attack, it would be the last mistake he would make. And so the Spartan waited, reading the strange woman's body language to the best of his abilities while tensing his muscles to ready into action, he quickly noticed that she was much shorter than he was, perhaps even a bit shorter than the average, un-augmented human woman of Caucasian descent.

'_Comprenez-vous encore un mot que je dis?_' she then asked with frustration and then speaking again '_Können Sie mich verstehen?_'

Was that German he thought with surprise and a desperate idea came into his mind, clearing his throat, Noble Six then slowly but calmly spoke in what Hungarian he knew. '_Can you understand me?'_ He slowly asked while using the language many people on Reach spoke, Jorge had taught some of it to him during downtime between missions but he had never had the opportunity to really use it.

The woman paused for a moment, studying his words and she then nodded and began to cautiously speak in a similar sounding language '_yes, I understand you.'_

'_Who… what are you?' _asked Noble Six warily as several questions buzzed within his brain.

'_I asked first, knight'_ the woman replied coldly. '_First, let us put away our weapons and be civil about this'_ added the woman '_answer my questions first and then I will answer yours.'_

'_I… Agree_' The Spartan then said as he somewhat struggled with the words '_what you ask?_'.

'_Where are we? what is this place?_' questioned the dark armored woman.

_'This is world, _Reach_, inside _Epsilon Eridani_' _replied the Spartan.

'Reach? Epsilon… Eridani?' she then said with confusion while forming words which were clearly unfamiliar to her. '_We are not in the New World of _Lustria_?' _she then asked, and the Spartan shook his head for he had never heard of a planet called Lustria.

A thoughtful moment passed the woman's features which were still coated in red blood as she hesitantly sheathed her sword and the Spartan likewise was hesitant not to just pull out one of his combat knives. The woman quietly muttered something in what seemed to be German and her eyes widened as she began to pat herself down as if she were missing something. He kept hearing the word '_Scheiße_' being repeatedly spoken as she began to become desperate in her search.

She then suddenly stopped as a look of realization came upon her face and she muttered something again in German which he did not catch.

'_What is it_?' asked Noble Six who was unsure if he should take advantage of her distraction or not.

'_Gone!_' The woman replied with eyes widened disbelief as she looked to him '_the Key is gone_!'

'_What Key? What you talk about?_' the Spartan then said as the situation was just growing weirder and weirder by the moment.

The woman's eyes suddenly widened as a look of realization came across her face; she then muttered something which the Spartan made out as '_der H__ügel_'

'_The what_?' asked the Spartan with confusion and before his eyes, he saw the woman's skin begin to sprout black glossy black feathers as glassy orbs of dark eyes opened up around her skin.

His lower jaw suddenly dropped at this unnatural sight, the woman's form began to break apart and in its place, he saw black birds from Earth he recognized ravens. In the next moment, the flock of ravens flew outside of the cave and they disappeared into the darkness of the night with Noble Six being left alone at the cave's mouth and completely left speechless by what he had just seen.

* * *

><p>Watching as the scanner equipped Hurgaroks went about their work while occasionally creating a series of whistling sounds; a Spec Ops Elite who had been posted in area was forced to stifle a yawn as he patrolled continued his patrol For a few hours now, they had been guarding the area with nothing happening at all. The bodies of their fallen had been recovered and sent back to The Vigil of Remembrance so that they can be stored and later returned to their families with posthumous honors.<p>

There had been something unusual and unnerving about the area at first but after a while, whatever it was had faded away and leaving only a silence as the winds blew. Some of the other Spec Ops members had darkly muttered about the place being cursed and their officers had dismissed it as of being mere superstitions. The Elite himself though was inclined to agree for it just was not normal for several squads to disappear without a trace, especially within an area which had been heavily monitored by their ship's sensors as well as the very eyes of several warriors.

Looking up to the dark, cloudy sky, where trio of Phantom Gunships hovered above them the Elite privately wondered why they would even need such security. The humans on this planet have already been defeated and their cities were already being glassed into oblivion. He wondered what sort of operation he would be part of next for the Spec Ops soldier had recently taken part in the destruction of a human military facility.

Continuing his patrol, the Elite stepped on something which felt solid and hard. Likely just a piece of debris he thought with disinterest as he glanced down and saw something shiny which caught his eye. Curious at what it was, the Spec Ops Elite bent down to see what it was and he studied it, tilting his head, the Elite picked up the object which was cool to touch and he held it up to the night sky.

It was strange, solid piece of silvery metal with small spikes extending from the sides and two small horns at the top. As he studied it, the Elite began to notice that the shape actually seemed, insect-like in appearance, what was most intriguing though was a series of strange glyphs which were etched upon its silvery surface and at the center of the object, he saw a crystalline sphere which generated a brilliant white light which was actually rather beautiful to look open.

'What is that you found there?' came the voice of another Spec Ops Sangheili and the Spec Ops Elite broke his reverie.

'I do not know' shrugged the Spec Ops soldier 'it's not human-made I think'. The other Spec Ops Sangheili drew closer and the Elite handed the silver object to his comrade.

The other Sangheili studied it for a moment and asked him 'do you think this is what we are looking for?'

'We should have the Engineers take a look at it' suggested the Spec Ops Elite and he began to call to one of the Hurgaroks.

The Engineer created a whistling sound as it floated towards them and the other Sangheili offered the object to the Engineer who began to make a series of excited sounds as its tentacle gently wrapped around it. Soon, several more Hurgaroks began to gather around the one which held the silvery object, they each began to make excited sounds and soon they ascended up to the Phantoms.

'Well that is something' said the other Sangheili a bit puzzled 'Do you think that we will get a reward for that?'

'I hope so' shrugged the Spec Ops Elite who couldn't quite stop thinking about the strange object he had found.

Unknown to the squadron of Spec Ops Elites, a series of black feathered, avian creatures watched the whole exchange in silence as they perched themselves atop the ruins of the human structures. Several pairs of obsidian eyes looked up to the Phantom of which the Engineers hovered towards and the flock took wing with the intent of death within each of the glittering black eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note: Normally, I am not into crossover stories between two settings of very different technological levels. Usually because in most versions of such stories, the guy from the more futuristic setting ends up killing everyone else from the lower-tech setting and probably scoring with girls for random reasons. With this story, I will be taking a very different approach. Just so you know, no this tale will not somehow end up with a Vampire SPARTAN... or will it?<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

Nodding in satisfaction as the last of the Engineers boarded the Phantom, a silver armored Sangheili Ranger quickly called to the pilot, informing him that they should be ready to go back into orbit. As the pilot responded, the Ranger heard flapping sounds and to his surprise, he saw several black feathered avian creatures fly into the drop ship from the sideway loading ramps which were still open. Several of the avian life forms blocked the vision of his visor and the Elite swung his right arm about while attempting to swat away the feathered nuisances.

The creatures loudly cawed as they did not relent and the Ranger heard the pilot calling out, asking what was going on while the Engineers made a series of high pitched sounds which he believed was indicative of fear. Finally striking one of the things, he heard the flock suddenly give out a loud unified screech of pain which sounded almost like that of a human's. The Ranger suddenly saw the avian creatures converge to a single position and much to his surprise, instead of seeing several of them collide into one another, it looked as if they melted formed into a single mass of utter darkness.

Unnerved by this unnatural sight and not knowing what it was, the Ranger quickly brought up his needle rifle and as he was about to fire, something leapt out from the black mass. Before the Sangheili knew it, a black blade which was etched with emerald green sigils punched through the visor of his helmet and creating a sharp _tink _sound as the Elite was stabbed in the face. The Engineers began to chirp in terror as that which had killed their guard turned its shadowy eyes on them with sharpened fangs exposed.

* * *

><p>Searching amongst the bodies of the fallen army soldiers, Noble Six was relieved to finally find a gun. Holding up a well maintained magnum which had acquired from a soldier whose dog tag read, R. Banks, the Spartan quietly paid his respects to the dead man, just another name and face to remember as he promised vengeance against the Covenant. He did his best not to look at the savage gash where the man's throat had been and he concentrated on removing the ammo clip from the pistol and inspecting it, he was a glad that at the least, there were still seven rounds lefts.<p>

Placing the clip back into the handgun and hearing a satisfying click, he pulled back the slider and flipped the safety off. One bullet was all he needed thought the Spartan, it would just be a matter of finding the right time and the right place. It would not be the first time that he would find himself behind enemy lines and relying on the use of Covenant weaponry to get by, unfortunately though, the lack of a properly working MJOLNIR presented a new problem for him.

For a moment Six considered his current options, he could try to find a Covenant outpost or camp and from there, attempt to hijack a ship and try to make it back to Earth. The option of staying on the planet and just killing every alien he sees was also tempting but it would likely prove to be short-lived for the Covenant would no doubt start glassing large sections of Reach. One thing for sure though was that he wasn't going to stay in this cave for long, especially with the possibility of that woman coming back.

Still quite unnerved by what he had just seen, it was simply impossible for anyone to just… transform into a flock of ravens and earlier, the wolf. Maybe he had hallucinated the whole thing he thought, maybe he had inhaled some sort of gas within the cave or that the woman had access to some advance form holographic technology to create the flock and yet, he had seen the feathers and fur which had been left behind. At back of his mind, Noble Six began to recall some old films he had once seen as a child before his life in the Spartan Program but he quickly dismissed these thoughts at the sheer absurdity of it.

The idea of checking the fallen Spartans at the back of the cave had crossed his mind, for surely one of them would have a still working suit of MJOLNIR armor but it quickly became an uncomfortable one. It seemed just wrong to take the armor off of one of his brothers and sisters for many of them felt that it was as much a part of them as their own limbs or hearts, there was also that fact their armor may not properly fit him as well. He had also thought about attempting to scavenging parts from the other suits of power armor but Noble Six was had not exactly been trained as an engineer and since he had no access to any proper tools, repairing his suit was simply well beyond him.

With a sigh, the Spartan decided to make do with what he had at the moment for if people like the ODST can do their job without the need of high-tech suits of armor then so could he. Slowly rising up with the several bodies which all had their throats torn out post-mortem around him, he did his best to his revulsion and yet there was another unusual thing which the Spartan noticed.

Where was their blood? He thought for none of the bodies had left any blood stains and even with his superior senses, he could barely smell any on them. It was as if each of the bodies had been completely exsanguinated and yet, why were the bodies of the other Spartans left mostly untouched? More questions filled the thoughts of Noble Six whose unease further increased as he racked his brain in trying to find some sort of explanation.

Again, his mind began to recall and cite examples from old myths and popular media but the rational part of him refused to believe in the possibility of what he thought could not even be remotely true. Surely there must be some sort of explanation? Some logical, scientific explanation on what he had just encountered. Feeling that his very sanity might break from the strain, the Spartan decided to drop the matter for now and focus on survival.

Quickly making his way out of the cave with only his skin suit, a makeshift brace to carry several combat knives and a single pistol with seven rounds, the Spartan felt oddly calm and collected about the situation. His mind quickly eased back into the state of the hunter, the lone wolf. This was what he was trained for, what he was made, he would find the enemy and he would keep on fighting them until his last breath.

* * *

><p>Looking up to the sky and noticing that the Phantom which had carried the Engineers was still there, a Spec Ops Elite was curious as of why it had not taken off into orbit. His squad's Commanding Officer was hailing the Phantom's pilot and asking for their status but all they received was silence. Was there some sort of malfunction with the drop ship? If so, shouldn't the Engineers already be fixing it? The Spec Ops Elite began to feel a sense have a sense of caution and wariness, the kind that felt similar to the waiting before battle.<p>

The officer hailed the phantom again and immediately, the entire group became uneasy for the same thing had happened to the ground teams sent to slay the demon.

'Over there!' shouted one of the other Sangheili and the Spec Ops Elite caught a glimpse of something shiny falling from it. Switching to night vision and using the zoom in function of his helmet's visor, it took him a moment to study the falling object but he quickly realized in disbelief that it was the severed head of another Sangheili.

'How in the Prophet's name did that happen!?' cried one of his comrades and the Elite felt the same way.

'Destroy that Phantom now!' roared their officer and the Spec Ops Team looked to their leader with momentary surprise before years of discipline and military training kicked in. It was likely that something got on board; most likely, the Demon and was now attempting to hijack the drop ship. If that were the case of course then they could not allow the Demon to leave this planet and wreak further havoc upon their comrades.

A massed volley of energy weapons fire soon burst out from the Spec Ops Team with plasma weapons, concussion rifles, Fuel Rod Cannons and Plasma Launchers. The heavier weapons had of course done the most damage and the drop ship was literally knocked out of the sky as an explosion rocked it. The Phantom fell for a moment as massive holes had been punched into its hull, exposing mechanical parts and electrical wiring before it exploded in a bright ball of blue energy which lighted up the night.

A shower of debris landed upon the surface with none of the larger pieces landing near them. Orders were called out to search the wreckage and the Spec Ops team obeyed their Officer. As the Spec Ops Elite took a step forward, he noticed a slight cloud of mist at the corner of his vision and there was something about it which made his skin crawl.

* * *

><p>Noticing the bright flash of blue light in the distance, Noble Six recognized that it was the explosion of a Covenant drop ship. For a moment, he wondered if that woman had something to do with it and guessed that it was likely, but what if it was not her but perhaps a remnant group of human soldiers? Quickly picking up his pace across the dusty plane near the ship breaking yard, the Spartan was desperate know if he truly was the only UNSC survivor around.<p>

It did not take long for the Spartan to traverse the terrain and soon he began to realize that he was heading to the same spot where he had made his last stand. Eventually slowing his pace and crouching low, Noble Six noticed the heavy footsteps of Elites as they searched among pieces of metallic debris. Drawing one of his knives, the Spartan kept to the shadows while creeping closer towards one of the aliens. Steadying his breath as his heart began to pound more forcefully, Noble Six then rushed forwards while reversing his grip on the knife.

Before the alien even knew it, the Spartan slashed the lower back of the Elite with a horizontal strike to his right and he quickly brought the blade back up to stab it in the neck. Blue blood spattered the sleeve of his skin suit as the Spartan was forced to apply more pressure into his strike for he had not the extra strength added by power armor. The Elite made a gurgling sound as blood likely bubbled up from its mouth and before it dropped to the ground, the Spartan quickly grabbed the plasma rifle it had carried.

The voice of an Elite called out to the Spartan's direction and he knew that it was meant for the one he had just killed. Going low and moving away from the body as quickly and quietly as he could, Noble Six moved behind a particularly large piece of wreckage and he lay there for a moment as he listened for the footsteps of the aliens. As the same voice called out again, Noble Six squinted his eyes and tried to search through the darkness to find the alien.

Quickly noticing the brief glint of light from its armor, the Spartan quickly shifted his hold on the knife and was soon carrying it by the tip between his fingers. As he was about to throw it, the Spartan suddenly heard a loud shout of surprise from another Elite which was quickly followed by the squeal of metal and the crunching of bone.

Bright flashes of plasma fire lit up the night air as the aliens began to open fire upon their attacker and very briefly, did Noble Six catch a glimpse of that woman again who instantly emerged from the shadows of the night. One of the first things the Spartan noticed to his astonishment was that the dark armored woman was extremely fast, faster than he had thought possible back in the cave as her black bladed sword which was etched with the glowing hieroglyphs was carving up the armor, shields and flesh of the aliens as if it were mere paper.

Noticing the movements of a stealthed Elite which glowed with the light of a plasma sword, he saw that the alien was charging at the woman from behind. Unsure and highly conflicted as of whether he should be helping the woman or not, Noble Six saw the alien de-cloak and swiftly lunge at the woman with a deadly uppercut strike. To his surprise, the woman swiftly turned around and she actually brought her sword up in time to parry the plasma sword while her own glowed even more brightly.

The woman then countered with a left handed uppercut of her own and the Spartan saw her hand punch right through under section of the Elite's helmet and she tore something out which caused the alien to scream in agony as blood gushed out from its wound. Its screams were short lived though for the woman ended its misery by stabbing the Elite in the gut and driving the blade up to its chest where the alien was briefly even lifted up. The woman quickly then kicked the Elite off of her sword as the others continued to fire at her with each shot hitting only air as the woman was already on the move again.

Once more, Noble Six was struck by the sheer impossibility of what he was witnessing as this strange woman was practically slaughtering the Elites which he recognized as of being part of a Special Forces Unit. Alien bodies fell to the ground, all did so while bleeding copious amounts of blood while limbs and heads were severed. Eventually the Spartan managed to catch of glimpse of what the woman had held in her other hand and he saw that it was the bloody mandibles of the sword wielding Elite.

* * *

><p>Standing aboard the bridge of The Vigil, the Ship Master listened to the garbled reports from the Spec Ops Team on the ground. First there was the destruction of the Phantom which had carried the Hurgarok survey team, the pilot had reported the sound of fighting within the drop ship and then was silent after being hailed. The Ship Master mandibles tightened as he contemplated the idea of just glassing the surface and the only thing that had stopped him was the report which came in about something of value being found by the survey team found.<p>

Again, the Ship Master wondered if it may be an artifact of sorts from the Forerunner facility. Quickly opening up the channel to the ships public announcement speakers, he ordered the troops to prepare for a drop and landing. As the channel closed, it took less than thirty seconds for the first reports of drop pods being launched to come in.

'Ship Master!' came the voice of a Communications Officer and the Sangheili turned his gaze to one of his underlings who was busily operating a console. 'Our sensors have picked up another energy spike' said the officer who then began sending coordinates to the Ship Master's own console and he saw that the anomaly came from a location which was several miles away from where the Operational Zone was.

'Re-direct four Phantoms to that location' ordered the Ship Master who was no longer planning to take any chances. Too many strange happenings have been occurring within such a short period of time and the Ship Master wanted to know just what exactly was going on down on the planet. As he watched several of the drop ships descend upon the planet, the Ship Master watched and waited, eager to see the next developments of the situation.

* * *

><p>Watching as the last of the Elites was cut down by the black sword, Noble Six was simply stunned at the sheer destruction which the dark armored woman had wrought. The plates which protected her were glowing with green hieroglyphs across its surface like the ones he had seen on the sword and he could have sworn that plasma bolts had actually struck her and yet she had been able to shrug it off. Could she have some sort of energy shield? He thought, was the woman some sort of superhuman like he was or simply hopped up on something like the Rumbledrugs used by the Insurrectionists?<p>

He had seen other Spartans deal that sort of damage in close quarters engagements before but of course there was the fact that they were super soldiers who wore suits of powered armor which gave them greater strength, speed and toughness when compared to normal humans. Again, the Spartan was in disbelief at the abilities which this woman possessed and that part of him which contained his survival instinct told him to get as far away from her as possible. Turning around and slowly sneaking away while trying to keep low, he noticed the distinct sound of a heavy drop pod and he looked up to see the three engines fired up to slow it landing.

Leaping to the side and avoiding being crushed by the transport, he hid within a patch of tall grass while quickly pulling out both the plasma rifle and his magnum. Watching the pod to see what may come out, he was somewhat hopeful about the chance of being able to "acquire" something good like a needle rifle. The three doors of the drops pods slid up to reveal the energy barriers which protected its occupants and he saw a pack of Jackal Skirmisher step out with each one armed with plasma pistols or needlers. Not what he needed he thought as he kept his distance and the aliens thankfully did not notice him as they moved towards where he had last seen the woman.

If there was one pod… he thought as he suddenly looked up and saw other pods descending from the sky. Muttering a curse at the sight of several more alien reinforcements, the Spartan knew that he should not stick around for long. Wishing that he had a DMR or a Sniper Rifle, he was not as keen with the idea of trying to engage the Covenant in close quarters without the protection of his MJOLNIR armor.

Looking at his pistol though, he thought that perhaps he wouldn't need a DMR after all. Patience he thought to himself, for a hunter who had patience would always find their prey.

* * *

><p>Looking up to the strange, night sky which lacked the twin moons of Morrslieb and Mannslieb, the Vampire Countess noticed the several falling metal, egg-like contraptions which fell from the heavens. What manner of strange machines were these she had thought which could create blazes of pale blue fire that could slow the fall of something so large and surely heavy as well. Within each of the metal eggs, she could see the heart-fires of several more of the monsters which carried those strange weapons of searing light.<p>

Hissing a curse in her native tongue for she had almost managed to reclaim The Key from those floating tentacle creatures and it had been unexpected that one of them had simply just thrown it off of the flying machine. Finding it would be difficult now, especially with more enemies about, a situation which could only be rectified in one way. Tightening her grip upon the sword which had served her well for so many centuries, the Vampire Countess felt the comforting glow of the relic which she greatly prized.

Placed into a small leather satchel of tanned orc-hide was a dark green orb which was covered with a protective layer of ensorcelled bone and the visible crystalline section glowed with _Dhar_. The Mortis Cage it was called was one of five devices created by a mad Tilean Necrarch of whom the Countess considered a close ally at best. Removing orb which was no bigger than her own fist, this particular Mortis Cage was protected by the bones of warlocks and sorcerers who had once served Tzeentch, the Chaos God of Change and sorcery.

Drawing upon the power within the Mortis Cage, she heard the agonized wails of the souls which had been trapped by the orb and from their pain; she was infused with the energy needed to fuel her spells for this world was devoid of the Winds. Whispering in the ancient tongue of Nehekhara's long dead nobility, the Vampire Countess poured her dread will into the corpses of the creatures she had slain and soon their eyes were filled with a green balefires as they awakened from the eternal slumber. Each of the newly risen creatures became extensions of her will and as they got back up to their feet, she gave them a single command, kill.

Her minions silently obeyed as they slowly lurched towards the living ones which had already arrived and were swiftly moving towards her position. The Beast Within howled and called for further carnage against these creatures whose blood tasted as foul as those of greenskins and the Countess found herself being quite agreeable with its desires but found that such a thing was unnecessary. All she needed to do was to distract them long enough with her minions and then focus on finding The Key herself.

Whispering words of power once more while further drawing energy from the Mortis Cage, the Vampire Countess instantly wreathed herself in a cloak of shadows which would conceal her from mortal sight and soon she disappeared, leaving no trace but minions she had reanimated.

* * *

><p><strong>Elsewhere…<strong>

Large, round eyes stared into vastness of the cold void of the heavens where countless worlds, each a mass of stone, metals, gases and liquids which formed the endless landscapes of environs and climes which could support or deny the existence of living beings. On some of these worlds, life flourished where alien ecologies evolved while in others, there was nothing but desolation and stillness. For some of the latter, the former had once been true but whether by cosmic mishap, tectonic instability or by the deeds of its own inhabitants, life had ceased to be.

Such was the way of things for the cosmos was a cold and uncaring place, at best. If indeed the universe had a consciousness of its own, then it would be a spiteful and malevolent sentience for what cruel mind would have created, that which was known only as Chaos. And as an added factor, there was also the existence of beings like the one who sought to bring the entire world into the ultimate state of Order, to make the very planet a place of stillness, free of the disorder caused by life itself.

Thoughts like these occupied the mind of Quetzotac, Slaan Mage-Priest of Cuahtan, the Temple of Ancients. For many long eons has Quetzotac studied and meditated upon the artifacts and devices left behind by their creators, the Old Ones. When the Children of the Firebird came in what was a mere few centuries ago, the Mage-Priest had allowed them leave unharmed for he had seen their fate-lines and the ruin they would bring among those who opposed the plan of the Old Ones. And yet now, here he was, contemplating upon whether his judgment at the time had been impaired and what would be the cost of his miscalculation.

Through the lines of fate, Quetzotac had singled out the thread of the one who flew upon wings of the storm. Much to the surprise of the Mage-Priest, the deeds of this single individual whom he had deemed was necessary to live, would ripple across the complex tapestry that was fate itself and it lead to the fate of one whose very existence was a blight upon that tapestry. A being in particular whose fate was erratic and unpredictable to even one such as Quetzotac who was well versed in matters of divination.

Five armies now clashed over Cuahtan, each seeking to steal away the relics of the Old Ones. One had come from the cold north with bloodied hands, another had come from the dark bellow in diseased swarms, the third sought only to spread further ruin in the name of Four. The army which sought to defend the Temple still did so with their blood now mingling with the rivers shed by the invaders.

And yet the army which proved the most troublesome this day was that composed entirely of beings which by all rights should be nothing more than further nourishment for the earth. The progeny of the one which the hated dwellers bellow called, _Kreeqar-gan_ were the most successful in breaching the defenses of Temple. Already, one of them had succeeded in stealing an artifact left behind by the Old Ones and by some mishap, it had activated.

The loss of the artifact had greatly disturbed Quetzotac and he knew that it must be retrieved , regardless of the cost. But first there was the current battle to win for there were so many more artifacts which could not fall into the wrongs hands. Once the invaders have been crushed and the Temple cleansed, Quetzotac would begin organizing the retrieval of the artifact and the destruction of the one who had dared to steal it.


End file.
